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Publication Date: 2026-01-14 20:06:00
What Happened?
A number of stocks fell in the afternoon session after tech stocks pulled back as reports surfaced that Chinese customs authorities blocked Nvidia’s H200 AI chips, effectively halting their entry despite recent U.S. export approvals.
This semiconductor sell-off, led by Broadcom and Micron, reflected deepening fears that the “AI trade” was colliding with a protectionist “new normal.” Investors were concerned about the prospect of a fragmented global order where tech giants are caught between Washington’s industrial strategy and Beijing’s push for semiconductor sovereignty.
Broadening the risk, markets were also agitated about the Justice Department’s investigation into Fed Chair Jerome Powell, sparking concerns over central bank independence. This domestic political friction, paired with rising oil prices from Iranian civil unrest, likely forced a pivot from growth to defense.
The stock market overreacts to news, and big price drops can present good opportunities to buy high-quality stocks.
Among others, the following stocks were impacted:
Zooming In On Autodesk (ADSK)
Autodesk’s shares are not very volatile and have only had 5 moves greater than 5% over the last year. In that context, today’s move indicates the market considers this news meaningful, although it might not be something that would fundamentally change its perception of the business.
The previous big move we wrote about was 6 days ago when the stock dropped 6.1% on the news…
